Cartesian and Platonic Philosophical Themes in The Matrix Essay

Cartesian and Platonic Philosophical Themes in The Matrix Essay

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This essay will examine the philosophical questions raised in the movie The Matrix. It will step through how the questions from the movie directly relate to both skepticism and the mind-body problem, and further how similarly those problems look to concepts raised by both Descartes’ and Plato’s philosophies. It will attempt to show that many of the questions raised in the movie are metaphor for concepts from each philosopher’s works, and why those concepts are important in relation to how they are presented in the film. In this analysis, we will examine the questions of skepticism and the mind-body problem separately. Part one will examine how the film broached the subject of skepticism, and in doing so how it ties in to…show more content…

Simply put, the Matrix represent a system of complete and utter deception and cradle to grave control of those minds trapped within, all sharing the computer generated complex illusion. The Matrix as the evil genius or malicious demon should not be difficult to grasp. The parallels are there, near the surface, as Descartes surmises that an all-powerful malevolent entity has focused all its energies on to him to deceive him on every level of his existence (Descartes, 49). The Matrix as a system represents that very concept; as it can change the layout of buildings and the nature of things inside the Matrix within on a whim, it can manipulate events to influence the outcome of all of the lives contained inside, and that it shows one what it wants one to see in order to hide the fact that they are all just dreamers trapped in capsules full of goo with cables hooked to every nerve bundle tying the subjects nervous systems to the false reality of the Matrix (Sanders, 215). References to the Cave are not very deep below the surface either, perhaps more prevalent than the hints of Descartes. At the same time that the Matrix is

Cartesian Rationalism
Descartes is considered to be the father of modern day Western Philosophy, and was a mathematician who began to consider if what he knew was actually true. Born into medieval times where the global knowledge was coming unwound, everything that had been considered common knowledge was coming into question. He concluded that nothing was true, unless you could sway any argument against it. This method of system doubt would leave him with a core bit of knowledge to build upon, but…

Analysis of Film The Matrix
The Matrix, released at Easter in 1999, is both a piece of cinematic
entertainment and a film portraying religious and philosophical
allegories. The Matrix can therefore be viewed from two different
perspectives; purely as an action film or instead on a deeper level,
exploring the more insidious values hidden in the plot.
As a piece of cinematic entertainment, the Matrix was a very
successful film release. It contains fight scenes, chase…

The Cave and the Matrix
Movie critics and philosophers alike agree that the movie “The Matrix” is indeed based upon certain Platonic themes from Book VII of The Republic. In this story entitled "The Allegory of the Cave," he describes a dark underground cave where a group of people are sitting in one long row with their backs to the cave's entrance. Chained to their chairs from an early age, all the humans can see is the distant cave wall in from of them. The shadows of statues held by unseen…

Epicureanism is a philosophical theme taught by Epicurus, this theme that stresses the goal of a joyful and a pleasurable life. In the Hellenistic Age, epicureanism was extremely influential. Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism, is best known for his different personality, unlike all the other ancient philosophers, excluding Socrates (O 'Keefe). Epicurus accumulated a group of disciples and taught them, after that he became known as the “philosophy of the Garden.” The wisdom theory, epicureanism…

The Matrix is a sci-fi action film created in 1999 by Andy and Lana Wachowski. The Matrix explores each branch of philosophy with great depth, giving the viewers a reason to question the world we live in today. The most intellectually stimulating problem presented by the Matrix trilogy is the question of the nature of reality posed by the premise of the film. This is actually an ancient question, which Plato asked and attempted to answer in his Dialogues, especially in the famous allegory of the…

Descartes’ Cartesian Circle
Descartes’ “Cartesian Circle” has come under fire from countless philosophers because it supposedly commits a logical fallacy with its circular reasoning. In his second Meditation, Descartes attempts to prove the existence of God. He states that clear and distinct perception leads to knowledge, and that God’s existence is apparent and obvious because of things we have come to perceive as knowledge. Furthermore, he asserts that we cannot turn these perceptions into…

Based on the foundational theological themes discussed during the first half of the course, it may be inferred that the essence of Christianity broadly lies within deciphering God’s will, and further transferring his will into action particularly by adapting simplicity in our lifestyle and serving those in need to bring about justice and to help humanity prevail. We can note the acknowledgement of the importance of service in various different Tradition’s that fall under the Christian Tradition such…

Plato, Descartes and the Matrix
Every philosopher seems to be more concerned with constitutes reality than any other factor. When different ones were discussing the law, mathematics, science they were still trying to nail down reality to their satisfaction and determine what it is and whether it truly exists the way people have always believe that it does. Descartes for example was a noted mathematician who is still studied to this day. All three snippets are looking at whether reality, actual…

Platonic Philosophy in Christian Theology
Plato is undoubtedly one of the world’s most widely read and studied philosophers, as he laid the foundations of Western Philosophy and science—influencing the world generations beyond his time. His influences can be seen in a multitude of subjects—aesthetics, political philosophy, cosmology, epistemology, the philosophy of language, and even theology. Although Plato was Greek, and the Greeks are not inherently Christian, multiple aspects of his philosophy…

the body is simply a vessel for the soul to use, while Descartes provides proof that the body and soul are interconnected (172). One does not simply use the other; though they are separate, the mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. Cartesian dualism tells us that "although the whole mind seems to be united to the whole body, I recognize that if a foot or arm or any other part of the body is cut off, nothing has thereby been taken away from the mind" (414). However, Descartes also states…